Is LinkedIn Premium Worth It? Cost and benefits (2023)
If you’re reading this, you likely recognize LinkedIn’s potential and are considering its premium features.
You might be asking, “Is LinkedIn Premium worth it?” The straightforward answer is yes. Whether you’re a job seeker, a recruiter, or a salesperson, LinkedIn Premium has value.
It’s not just another subscription that you’ll regret. But what does LinkedIn Premium offer and which plan is right for you, if any?
I’ve done the legwork, and I’ll tell you if you should use LinkedIn Premium, whether you’re a job seeker, a recruiter or a salesperson.
Let’s explore 4 main topics:
- What is LinkedIn Premium and how much does it cost
- Benefits of LinkedIn Premium
- Is LinkedIn Premium worth it for job seekers
- Is LinkedIn Premium worth it for sales and recruiting
What is LinkedIn Premium?
On LinkedIn, there are 4 type of account.
- LinkedIn Free account: A good starting point but comes with limitations.
- LinkedIn Premium: Ideal for networking and job seekers.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator: Tailored for lead generation and sales.
- LinkedIn Recruiter: Designed to help find the perfect candidates.
Linkedin Premium costs
LinkedIn Premium: A basic profile with limited features. Ideal for job seekers.
- Linkedin Premium Career: $39.99/month
- Linkedin Premium Business: $59.99/month
LinkedIn Sales Navigator: For lead generation and sales.
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator Professional: $99.99/month
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator Team: $149.99/month
- LinkedIn Sales Navigator Enterprise: Custom Pricing
LinkedIn Recruiter: To find the perfect candidates:
- LinkedIn Recruiter Lite: $2,399/year
- LinkedIn Recruiter: $8,999+/year
LinkedIn Premium Benefits
Some features are included across all LinkedIn premium subscription. Understanding these benefits and how they can assist you is crucial.
Let’s dig into these perks:
- InMails
- Who’s viewed your profile
- Access to LinkedIn Learning
- Unlimited searches
- Open Profile option
1. InMails
InMail messages allow you to directly connect with individuals on LinkedIn, even if they’re outside your network.
On a free account, you can only message people in your network.
With InMail messages, you can bypass the usual connection request and directly message professionals, opening doors to potential opportunities:
The number of InMails you get each month depends on the LinkedIn Premium plan you choose:
- 5 InMails with LinkedIn Premium Career
- 15 InMails with LinkedIn Premium Business
- 30 InMails with Recruiter Lite
- 50 InMails with Sales Navigator
- 150 InMails with LinkedIn Recruiter
Reaching out to recruiters or leads directly on LinkedIn is incredibly useful.
But keep reading, I’ll tell you 2 important things later:
- Why this feature is not needed when you’re a job seeker.
- How to send unlimited InMails with Sales Navigator and Recruiter plans.
2. Who’s Viewed Your Profile
With a LinkedIn Premium subscription, you access the “viewed profile” feature. It allows you to see everyone who has visited your profile in the last 90 days:
You can even filter this list to look for specific people. This feature is handy if you want to see if recruiters, prospects, or candidates are interested in you.
3. LinkedIn Learning
Another benefit of a LinkedIn Premium subscription is access to LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning is an educational platform offering numerous useful courses on:
- How to land your dream job
- Getting better at sales
- Improving your recruiting workflow
- Anything related to marketing
LinkedIn Learning has garnered high praise from users and, in our opinion, stands out as a great resource with a lot of value. It has received an impressive rating of 4.4 out of 5 on G2.
4. Unlimited Searches
With a basic LinkedIn account, you have a limited number of searches. If you use the free search tools too many times you will be blocked for a while. It’s called the “commercial use limit” (it’s about 300 searches per month).
However, by upgrading to the Premium Business, Sales Navigator, or Recruiter license, you can conduct unlimited searches. It’s important to note that this feature isn’t available in the LinkedIn Career plan.
5. Open Profile Option
If you have a LinkedIn premium subscription, you can turn on the Open Profile option. This lets people outside your direct connections send you free InMails.
This is especially useful if you’re:
- A freelancer
- A consultant
- A Jobseeker
It lets potential customers outside your network send you a direct message for free, which means you could hear from more prospects, candidates, or recruiters.
Is LinkedIn premium worth it for job seekers?
LinkedIn Premium Career is an excellent choice for job-seeking professionals.
This plan provides a variety of tools designed to improve your job search and make your application stands out.
Here’s why you should consider LinkedIn Premium Career if you’re hunting for a job:
- Featured Applications: With LinkedIn Premium, your applications stand out at the top of recruiters’ lists. This means you’re more likely to get noticed. This is the most important feature when it comes to job seeking.
- Competitive Analysis: You can compare your skills and qualifications to other applicants. This can help you understand where you stand in the job market.
- Salary Insights: You can see jobs that match your salary expectations. This ensures that you’re applying for jobs that align with your financial goals.
Enhanced Credibility: The LinkedIn Premium badge on your profile shows that you’re serious about your job search. This can make you look more credible to employers.
You’ll also get access to InMails, letting you reach out to recruiters directly on LinkedIn. But as mentioned earlier, this isn’t necessary. You can simply find recruiters’ emails and contact them that way.
This method enables you to reach out not just to 5 individuals using InMails, but to hundreds, giving you every chance to find the best job. We made a video about this:
Also, the only reason why business is more expensive than career is because you get more InMails.
All that being said, the career plan is very strong when it comes to job seeking and I recommend it over the business subscription if you’re looking for your dream job.
Is LinkedIn Premium worth it for sales?
This is where it gets interesting. When it comes to sales, one plan rules them all.
You should consider Sales Navigator over premium career and business. Let me explain why.
For a slightly higher cost of $99/month, it offers a comprehensive package focused on sales:
- Unlimited searches: You can search as many times as you want without any restrictions.
- 40+ advanced search filters: Over 40 specific criteria are available to refine and narrow down your searches.
- 50 inmails credits per month: You can send up to 50 direct messages (inmails) every month.
- Advanced boolean search queries: Use complex search terms combining AND, OR, NOT, etc., to get precise results.
- Saved searches to automate lead generation: Store your search criteria to automatically generate potential leads in the future.
- Custom alerts on leads and account activities: Receive notifications tailored to specific lead or account actions.
- Advanced insights on accounts: Get detailed analysis and data on user accounts.
- Export Leads with Verified emails: Download a list of potential leads that includes only confirmed email addresses.
Using Sales Navigator, you can directly export your leads to a spreadsheet with verified work email addresses. Here’s a short video about the process:
This method enables you to automate your outreach, making sure you connect with all prospects, whether they accepted your connection request or not.
Cold emailing is still one of the best ways to increase revenues in 2023 with an average of $38 generated for every $1 invested. 3,800% ROI, you read it right.
And Sales Navigator allows you to build lists of thousands of targeted leads for this.
To sum up, if you’re in sales, a startup founder, or an entrepreneur, LinkedIn Sales Navigator Core is designed for you.
If you’re part of a large team and want to leverage your team’s network, you might consider the Advanced plan, though it might not be essential.
The Advanced Plus plan is tailored for large firms. I wrote a guide on Sales Navigator Plans and Pricing here, and one other on LinkedIn Lead Generation if you want to learn more.
Is LinkedIn Premium Worth it: for recruiters
As a recruiter, you might think about LinkedIn Recruiter Lite as beneficial, but here again, I recommend Sales navigator.
At $99/month, Sales Navigator offers a better cost-to-benefit ratio for recruiters.
- More InMails (50 instead of 30)
- More pertinent search filters for your leads/candidates (29 filters instead of 21 in Recruiter)
- Extraction of Sales Navigator leads with verified emails and data (using Prospeo)
- More affordable
Since Sales Navigator allows you to refine your search and directly reach out to any candidate via email, the actual value derived from a recruiter becomes quite limited:
Here are the 35 filters:
Plus, it can also be used to find potential clients for your business, making it a versatile tool.
For large recruitment firms, LinkedIn Recruiter, even with its $1080 monthly cost, is worth it for big hiring firms. It simplifies your hiring process and save a lot of time to your HR team:
- LinkedIn Recruiter connects easily with your Applicant Tracking System (ATS), simplifying candidate management.
- The ‘Open to Work’ filter identifies candidates actively seeking jobs, boosting recruitment efficiency.
- With 150 InMails monthly, it allows direct and personal communication with potential hires right from LinkedIn.
